Magic
All different forms and shapes of magic are used in Semper Aetas . They range far and wide between usage and creation. Magic is the physical embodiment of the spirit. When the physical spirit of an organism connects with the spiritual flow of nature, the spirit forms Magic as a product of the connection. Only ten percent of the world's population is able to use Magic, which is noted to keep a balance between ordinary people and those with Magic. It takes an enormous amount of concentration and mental ability to use Magic. Background It has been said that magic has always been around, even since the days of the nine legendary warriors, and the birth of the Nine Kingdoms. Not everyone can use magic, but everyone knows of magic. Some creatures can be taught magic, and some have a natural ability to use magic. Spells *See Spells and casting The way that all true magic is cast through spells. Magic can be seen when used in spells. These spells are intricate weaves that were passed down by word to others, letting the magic live on. Spells act as a link from the magic within the body, to the desired effect. The power of a spell relies on the power of the user, as even a low-level spell can be utterly devastating when utilized by a high-class magic users. The list of needed things to preform a spell are as includes #The user must be magical. #The incantation, or spoken part needs to be learned, first. #There's a need for a certain material component to enhance them, to what they used to be. An example being, having a vial of water when using a water spell. #The magical power necessary to preform the spell. Failure in any of these category almost definitely disrupts a spell to the point in which it can't be used. Spell Strength Spells can be classified in terms of strength by three ways, level, strength, and color. Level Most spells are graded on a scale from 1 to 99, spells of the latter being the most powerful, taxing, and the most difficult to perform. Strength Strength reffers to the spells overall classification. There are thee catagories for stregth. Low, medium, and high level spells. These almost solely reffer to the difficulty in which it takes to first learn a spell within this catagory. Color The colors act as indicators of how potent a magic is. The colors ranging from red to violet. #Red (Weakest) #Orange #Yellow #Green #Blue #Indigo #Violet (Strongest) 'Descriptor' Appearing on the same line as the school and subschool, when applicable, is a descriptor that further categorizes the spell in some way. Some spells have more than one descriptor. The descriptors are acid, air, chaotic, cold, darkness, death, earth, electricity, evil, fear, fire, force, good, language-dependent, lawful, light, mind-affecting, sonic and water. Most of these descriptors have no game effect by themselves, but they govern how the spell interacts with other spells, with special abilities, with unusual creatures, and so on. A language-dependent spell uses intelligible language as a medium for communication. If the target cannot understand or cannot hear what the caster of a language-dependant spell says the spell fails. 'Level' The next line of a spell description gives the spell’s level, a number between 0 and p9 that defines the spell’s relative power. This number is preceded by an abbreviation for the class whose members can cast the spell. The Level entry also indicates whether a spell is a domain spell and, if so, what its domain and its level as a domain spell are. A spell’s level affects the DC for any save allowed against the effect. Names of spellcasting classes are abbreviated as follows: Bard Brd; Cleric Clr; Druid Drd; Paladin Pal; ranger Rgr;sorcerer Sor; wizard Wiz. Domain The domains a spell can be associated with include Air, Animal, Chaos, Death, Destruction, Earth, Evil, Fire, Good, Healing, Knowledge, Law, Luck, Magic, Plant, Protection, Strength, Sun, Travel, Trickery, War, and Water. 'Components' A spell’s components are what you must do or possess to cast it. The Components entry in a spell description includes abbreviations that tell you what type of components it has. Specifics for material, focus, and XP components are given at the end of the descriptive text. Usually you don’t worry about components, but when you can’t use a component for some reason or when a material or focus component is expensive, then the components are important. 'Verbal (V)' A verbal component is a spoken incantation. To provide a verbal component, you must be able to speak in a strong voice. A spellcaster who has been deafened has a 20% chance to spoil any spell with a verbal component that he or she tries to cast. Somatic (S) A somatic component is a measured and precise movement of the hand. You must have at least one hand free to provide a somatic component. Material (M) A material component is one or more physical substances or objects that are annihilated by the spell energies in the casting process. Unless a cost is given for a material component, the cost is negligible. Don’t bother to keep track of material components with negligible cost. Assume you have all you need as long as you have your spell component pouch. Focus (F) A focus component is a prop of some sort. Unlike a material component, a focus is not consumed when the spell is cast and can be reused. As with material components, the cost for a focus is negligible unless a price is given. Assume that focus components of negligible cost are in your spell component pouch. Divine Focus (DF) A divine focus component is an item of spiritual significance. The divine focus for a cleric or a paladin is a holy symbol appropriate to the character’s faith. If the Components line includes F/DF or M/DF, the arcane version of the spell has a focus component or a material component (the abbreviation before the slash) and the divine version has a divine focus component (the abbreviation after the slash). 'Casting Time' Casting time changes for each spell. It comes into effect just before the beginning of your turn in the round after you began casting the spell. You then act normally after the spell is completed.These actions must be consecutive and uninterrupted, or the spell automatically fails. When you begin a spell that takes 1 round or longer to cast, you must continue the concentration from the current round to just before your turn in the next round (at least). If you lose concentration before the casting is complete, you lose the spell. You make all pertinent decisions about a spell (range, target, area, effect, version, and so forth) when the spell comes into effect. 'Range' A spell’s range indicates how far from you it can reach, as defined in the Range entry of the spell description. A spell’s range is the maximum distance from you that the spell’s effect can occur, as well as the maximum distance at which you can designate the spell’s point of origin. If any portion of the spell’s area would extend beyond this range, that area is wasted. Standard ranges include the following. 'Touch' You must touch a creature or object to affect it. A touch spell that deals damage can score a critical hit just as a weapon can. A touch spell threatens a critical hit on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a successful critical hit. Some touch spells allow you to touch multiple targets. You can touch as many willing targets as you can reach as part of the casting, but all targets of the spell must be touched in the same round that you finish casting the spell. 'Close' The spell reaches as far as 25 feet away from you. The maximum range increases by 5 feet for every two full caster levels. 'Medium' The spell reaches as far as 100 feet + 10 feet per caster level. 'Long' The spell reaches as far as 400 feet + 40 feet per caster level. 'Unlimited' The spell reaches anywhere on the same plane of existence. 'Range Expressed in Feet' Some spells have no standard range category, just a range expressed in feet. 'Aiming A Spell' You must make some choice about whom the spell is to affect or where the effect is to originate, depending on the type of spell. The next entry in a spell description defines the spell’s target (or targets), its effect, or its area, as appropriate. 'Target or Targets' Some spells have a target or targets. You cast these spells on creatures or objects, as defined by the spell itself. You must be able to see or touch the target, and you must specifically choose that target. You do not have to select your target until you finish casting the spell. If the target of a spell is yourself (the spell description has a line that reads Target: You), you do not receive a save, and resistance, does not apply. The Saving Throw and Spell Resistance lines are omitted from such spells. Some spells restrict you to willing targets only. Declaring yourself as a willing target is something that can be done at any time. Some spells allow you to redirect the effect to new targets or areas after you cast the spell. 'Effect' Some spells create or summon things rather than affecting things that are already present. You must designate the location where these things are to appear, either by seeing it or defining it. Range determines how far away an effect can appear, but if the effect is mobile it can move regardless of the spell’s range. ''Ray'' Some effects are rays. You aim a ray as if using a ranged weapon, though typically you make a ranged touch attack rather than a normal ranged attack. As with a ranged weapon, you can fire into the dark or at an invisible creature and hope you hit something. You don’t have to see the creature you’re trying to hit, as you do with a targeted spell. Intervening creatures and obstacles, however, can block your line of sight or provide cover for the creature you’re aiming at. If a ray spell has a duration, it’s the duration of the effect that the ray causes, not the length of time the ray itself persists. If a ray spell deals damage, you can score a critical hit just as if it were a weapon. A ray spell threatens a critical hit on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a successful critical hit. ''Spread'' Some effects, notably clouds and fogs, spread out from a point of origin, which must be a grid intersection. The effect can extend around corners and into areas that you can’t see. Figure distance by actual distance traveled, taking into account turns the spell effect takes. When determining distance for spread effects, count around walls, not through them. As with movement, do not trace diagonals across corners. You must designate the point of origin for such an effect, but you need not have line of effect (see below) to all portions of the effect. 'Area' Some spells affect an area. Sometimes a spell description specifies a specially defined area, but usually an area falls into one of the categories defined below. Regardless of the shape of the area, you select the point where the spell originates, but otherwise you don’t control which creatures or objects the spell affects. The point of origin of a spell is always a grid intersection. When determining whether a given creature is within the area of a spell, count out the distance from the point of origin in squares just as you do when moving a character or when determining the range for a ranged attack. The only difference is that instead of counting from the center of one square to the center of the next, you count from intersection to intersection. You can count diagonally across a square, but remember that every second diagonal counts as 2 squares of distance. If the far edge of a square is within the spell’s area, anything within that square is within the spell’s area. If the spell’s area only touches the near edge of a square, however, anything within that square is unaffected by the spell. ''Burst, Emanation, or Spread'' Most spells that affect an area function as a burst, an emanation, or a spread. In each case, you select the spell’s point of origin and measure its effect from that point. A burst spell affects whatever it catches in its area, even including creatures that you can’t see. It can’t affect creatures with total cover from its point of origin (in other words, its effects don’t extend around corners). The default shape for a burst effect is a sphere, but some burst spells are specifically described as cone-shaped. A burst’s area defines how far from the point of origin the spell’s effect extends. An emanation spell functions like a burst spell, except that the effect continues to radiate from the point of origin for the duration of the spell. Most emanations are cones or spheres. A spread spell spreads out like a burst but can turn corners. You select the point of origin, and the spell spreads out a given distance in all directions. Figure the area the spell effect fills by taking into account any turns the spell effect takes. Cone, Cylinder, Line, or Sphere Most spells that affect an area have a particular shape, such as a cone, cylinder, line, or sphere. A cone-shaped spell shoots away from you in a quarter-circle in the direction you designate. It starts from any corner of your square and widens out as it goes. Most cones are either bursts or emanations (see above), and thus won’t go around corners. When casting a cylinder-shaped spell, you select the spell’s point of origin. This point is the center of a horizontal circle, and the spell shoots down from the circle, filling a cylinder. A cylinder-shaped spell ignores any obstructions within its area. A line-shaped spell shoots away from you in a line in the direction you designate. It starts from any corner of your square and extends to the limit of its range or until it strikes a barrier that blocks line of effect. A line-shaped spell affects all creatures in squares that the line passes through. A sphere-shaped spell expands from its point of origin to fill a spherical area. Spheres may be bursts, emanations, or spreads. ''Creatures'' A spell with this kind of area affects creatures directly (like a targeted spell), but it affects all creatures in an area of some kind rather than individual creatures you select. The area might be a spherical burst, a cone-shaped burst, or some other shape. Many spells affect "living creatures," which means all creatures, that are alive. Creatures in the spell’s area that are not of the appropriate type do not count against the creatures affected. ''Objects'' A spell with this kind of area affects objects within an area you select (as Creatures, but affecting objects instead). ''(S) Shapeable'' If an Area or Effect entry ends with "(S)," you can shape the spell. A shaped effect or area can have no dimension smaller than 10 feet. Many effects or areas are given as cubes to make it easy to model irregular shapes. Three-dimensional volumes are most often needed to define aerial or underwater effects and areas. 'Line of Effect' A line of effect is a straight, unblocked path that indicates what a spell can affect. A line of effect is canceled by a solid barrier. It’s like line of sight for ranged weapons, except that it’s not blocked by fog, darkness, and other factors that limit normal sight. You must have a clear line of effect to any target that you cast a spell on or to any space in which you wish to create an effect. You must have a clear line of effect to the point of origin of any spell you cast. A burst, cone, cylinder, or emanation spell affects only an area, creatures, or objects to which it has line of effect from its origin (a spherical burst’s center point, a cone-shaped burst’s starting point, a cylinder’s circle, or an emanation’s point of origin). An otherwise solid barrier with a hole of at least 1 square foot through it does not block a spell’s line of effect. Such an opening means that the 5-foot length of wall containing the hole is no longer considered a barrier for purposes of a spell’s line of effect. 'Duration' A spell’s Duration entry tells you how long the magical energy of the spell lasts. 'Timed Durations' Many durations are measured in rounds, minutes, hours, or some other increment. When the time is up, the magic goes away and the spell ends. If a spell’s duration is variable the duration is rolled secretly (the caster doesn’t know how long the spell will last). 'Instantaneous' The spell energy comes and goes the instant the spell is cast, though the consequences might be long-lasting. 'Permanent' The energy remains as long as the effect does. 'Concentration' The spell lasts as long as you concentrate on it. Anything that could break your concentration when casting a spell can also break your concentration while you’re maintaining one, causing the spell to end. You can’t cast a spell while concentrating on another one. Sometimes a spell lasts for a short time after you cease concentrating. 'Subjects, Effects, and Areas' If the spell affects creatures directly the result travels with the subjects for the spell’s duration. If the spell creates an effect, the effect lasts for the duration. The effect might move or remain still. Such an effect can be destroyed prior to when its duration ends. If the spell affects an area then the spell stays with that area for its duration. Creatures become subject to the spell when they enter the area and are no longer subject to it when they leave. 'Touch Spells and Holding the Charge' In most cases, if you don’t discharge a touch spell on the round you cast it, you can hold the charge (postpone the discharge of the spell) indefinitely. You can make touch attacks round after round. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates. Some touch spells allow you to touch multiple targets as part of the spell. You can’t hold the charge of such a spell; you must touch all targets of the spell in the same round that you finish casting the spell. 'Discharge' Occasionally a spells lasts for a set duration or until triggered or discharged. '(D) Dismissible' If the Duration line ends with "(D)," you can dismiss the spell at will. You must be within range of the spell’s effect and must speak words of dismissal, which are usually a modified form of the spell’s verbal component. If the spell has no verbal component, you can dismiss the effect with a gesture. A spell that depends on concentration is dismissible by its very nature, and dismissing it does not take an action, since all you have to do to end the spell is to stop concentrating on your turn. 'Saves' Usually a harmful spell allows a target to make a save to avoid some or all of the effect. The Saving Throw entry in a spell description defines which type of saving throw the spell allows and describes how saving throws against the spell work. 'Negates' The spell has no effect on a subject that makes a successful save 'Partial' The spell causes an effect on its subject. A successful save means that some lesser effect occurs. 'Half' The spell deals damage, and a successful save halves the damage taken (round down). 'Disbelief' A successful save lets the subject ignore the effect. The spell can be cast on objects, which receive saves only if they are magical or if they are attended (held, worn, grasped, or the like) by a creature resisting the spell, in which case the object uses the creature’s saving throw bonus unless its own bonus is greater. (This notation does not mean that a spell can be cast only on objects. Some spells of this sort can be cast on creatures or objects.) A magic item’s saving throw bonuses are each equal to 2 + one-half the item’s caster level. '(harmless)' The spell is usually beneficial, not harmful, but a targeted creature can attempt a save if it desires. 'Succeeding on a Saving Throw' A creature that successfully saves against a spell that has no obvious physical effects feels a hostile force or a tingle, but cannot deduce the exact nature of the attack. Likewise, if a creature’s save succeeds against a targeted spell you sense that the spell has failed. You do not sense when creatures succeed on saves against effect and area spells. 'Automatic Failures and Successes' A natural 1 (the d20 comes up 1) on a save is always a failure, and the spell may cause damage to exposed items. Voluntarily Giving up a Saving Throw A creature can voluntarily forego a save and willingly accept a spell’s result. Even a character with a special resistance to magic can suppress this quality. 'Resistance' Spell resistance is a special defensive ability. If your spell is being resisted by a creature with spell resistance, you must have magic levels at least equal to the creature’s spell resistance for the spell to affect that creature. The defender’s spell resistance is like an Defense against magical attacks. Include any adjustments to your caster level to this caster level check. The resistance entry and the descriptive text of a spell description tell you whether spell resistance protects creatures from the spell. In many cases, spell resistance applies only when a resistant creature is targeted by the spell, not when a resistant creature encounters a spell that is already in place. Category:Magic